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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203108">Meanings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangedAngel/pseuds/acrosspontneuf'>acrosspontneuf (FangedAngel)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Awkward Flirting, F/F, Mollie Shepard - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:07:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203108</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangedAngel/pseuds/acrosspontneuf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>‘Do you mean it?’</p><p>The words spill out before Cassandra has decided to say them, and it startles them both. She’d made little noise walking out onto the battlements and Shepard had been watching the stars, uninterested in the rest of her surroundings. Something in the far-away look on Shepard’s face had made her look like the fragment of a dream and Cassandra spoke and now they’re staring at each other in shared confusion.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard/Cassandra Pentaghast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Meanings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>An AU-within-an-AU Patreon reward for the amazing <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katieee/pseuds/Katieee">Katie</a>, set in the universe of her wonderful epic <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/10052990">The Two Commanders</a>. In this one, Mollie is with Cass instead of Cullen (sorry, Cullen!!).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘Do you mean it?’</p><p>The words spill out before Cassandra has decided to say them, and it startles them both. She’d made little noise walking out onto the battlements and Shepard had been watching the stars, uninterested in the rest of her surroundings. Something in the far-away look on Shepard’s face had made her look like the fragment of a dream and Cassandra spoke and now they’re staring at each other in shared confusion.</p><p>‘Do I mean what?’ Shepard asks, exhaustion lurking in the shadows under her eyes, tucked in the corner of her mouth.</p><p>Cassandra should refrain from speaking ever again, but there’s a dreamlike quality to this night, to this moment, with the stars casting their light over them while the rest of the fortress slumbers. There’s something about the relationship between Shepard and the stars that Cassandra will never be able to understand, but the open longing for them on Shepard’s face insinuates itself under Cassandra’s skin, tugging at her heart. </p><p>‘This constant and poor attempt at flirtation,’ Cassandra replies, wincing as Shepard’s expression shifts back into familiar territory with the blooming of a mischievous grin.</p><p>‘Why, Seeker, you noticed!’</p><p>Cassandra laughs, far too loudly, but the patrolling guards making their rounds don’t seem to react to the sudden burst of noise. ‘Everyone across Thedas has noticed. Subtlety is not something that will ever be associated with you.’</p><p>Shepard laughs then, too, and Cassandra feels ridiculously nervous all of a sudden, her palms tingling in the cold air. She feels vulnerable for no apparent reason and she hates showing it, hates the barely-there tremor in her voice when she says ‘do you mean it?’ again like she’s never received propositions before.</p><p>Something shifts in Shepard’s expression again and it’s always a surprise to see the seriousness in her under the layers she hides behind. Cassandra still shouldn’t have said anything, but too many fraught months have passed, too much has taken its toll on both of them and it has brought them here, sleepless under the starlit sky. Cassandra has been analysing all the ways in which she’s changed, and she’s been wondering. She’s allowed her thoughts to stray too far and she should not  admit to it, but Cassandra feels an unbearable need for honesty.</p><p>Shepard takes two steps towards her and stops, the freezing mountain wind making a mess of her braid, her hair fiery in the flickering torchlight. Cassandra wants to run her fingers through it and that’s definitely new, definitely a change. The thought must show on her face because Shepard takes another two steps and stops right in front of Cassandra, the height difference between them even starker than usual.</p><p>‘Cass, you’re really hot and really badass and that’s definitely a type I’m into, but I’m not here to make anyone uncomfortable.’ At Cassandra’s raised eyebrow and flushed cheeks, Shepard laughs again, a soft sound, and rephrases her sentence. ‘I’m not here to make you uncomfortable. I’ll stop.’</p><p>Cassandra shakes her head. She’s clumsy with words used to depict feelings, but this is not at all what she was implying. ‘Do you <i>mean</i> it, Shepard?’ she asks, the third time, the final time, and Shepard must notice the edge in her voice that hints at everything Cassandra is unable to articulate because she moves even closer, annihilating the space between them, framed by the stars.</p><p>‘I mean it,’ Shepard says, like it’s easy, like it’s obvious, and then she stretches on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to the corner of Cassandra’s mouth, a far gentler gesture than Cassandra was expecting. Her heart is racing in a way everyone must be able to hear, and she feels frozen by all the things she wants. She is a woman grown, but her feelings are out of control, her thoughts a chaotic jumble, and Shepard is waiting for her, softness wrapped around all her edges. </p><p>Cassandra has become used to the two of them working as a team on the field, synchronised in battle, but this is something she doesn’t know. Her movements feel as clumsy as her words, but all she can do is wrap her arms around Shepard’s waist and pull her up and kiss her like she’s been doing it from the start, like her arms could ever hold on to all the universes burning inside Shepard.</p><p>They kiss each other like they fight, together, following each other’s movements, reacting to each other’s rhythm, powerful and fierce and undeniable. Cassandra has to remind herself to breathe in the occasional space between their lips but breathing feels utterly secondary. They shouldn’t be doing this in the open but even her disdain for rumours feels insignificant in this moment. If any conversations arise, she will deal with them. She has a feeling that the Inquisitor will not be surprised by this.</p><p>They hold on to each other and Cassandra is unwilling to move away. One of her hands has found its way to Shepard’s hair, the braid now only a memory. She feels entirely alive, like she’s made of starlight and she doesn’t know what to do with this feeling. For a moment, she allows herself the illusion that they are the only two people here, that nothing can interrupt this. It is the first time duty feels meaningless.</p><p>‘I’m guessing you mean it too, then?’ Shepard asks, her voice warm and low, the tone once more mischievous. Cassandra really shouldn’t find it endearing. She rolls her eyes but doesn’t even try to move and Shepard kisses her again, like they have all the time in the world, like they don’t have to be back on the road in only a few hours. </p><p>Cassandra doesn’t know how this will work, doesn’t know what the future holds, doesn’t know if this world will ever be enough for Shepard. For now, as the starlight wraps itself around them, as the sky feels close enough to touch, she allows herself to feel everything at once. Shepard doesn’t let go.</p>
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